Turn Over a New Leaf
by rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe
Summary: Raven Roth has been writing famous stories for three years in isolation, and when she gets stuck in what to write for another book, a certain Gar Logan comes into mind. RaexBB plz review!


**Raven Roth has been writing famous stories for three years in isolation, and when she gets stuck in what to write for another book, a certain Gar Logan comes into mind. RaexBB plz review!**

Turn Over a New Leaf

By: Rosefire

Beautiful violet haired, formerly black haired, Raven Roth sat at her desk with one pen in her mouth and one hand on her head, thinking hard in frustration. She put down the purple Stanford pen on her ivory coloured desk and looked with her glistening amethyst eyes out the window. Grey clouds hovered the city with patches of clear blue sky eager to come out. It had been raining hard for the past couple of weeks, depressing everyone who got affected by the weather, including Raven, in her special way.

Surprised that there were still rain drops on the window, she walked over to her window on her white tiled floor and looked out the window. Picking up her ring pointer finger, she traced the trail that the rain drops left as they flowed down the side of the window. She sat in front of her window on her cream seated chestnut chair in a trance, thinking of her present situation.

She was a world famous author, for her dark stories and poetry. Many would buy her books from all over the world. Many people wondered what inspired her to write such talented books and poetry. She would only say that people around her and experience are the only inspiration. Recently, she was supposed to come up with a story by the deadline her editor gave her. Raven knew that she would be inspired for a new story by her deadline but that's where her problem starts. She didn't have a story or plot or anything. With just a few poems, Raven still had no clue what to write for her next book.

Breaking out of her trance, Raven blinked twice to reassure herself that she was not dreaming the rain drops and the gloomy weather. Frowning at the weather, she stood up from her seat and decided to have a cup of herbal tea.

Walking through the halls of her two-storey house, Raven looked around, taking in what her house was like. Even though she liked her privacy in her elegant home, she sometimes felt lonely. Glancing at her right, she saw two guest rooms; each painted a different color, red and blue. In fact, the rooms had a matching theme to both of them. She continued to walk through her hallway until she reached the staircase which midway broke into two separate staircases. Walking down the right one, at the base, she turned around into her kitchen. Her kitchen itself was a different story.

As she took a cup out from her beige colored cabinets, she then put water on the stove. Watching the steam slowly rise from the pot, she began to think. She began to think why she did actually write such inspiring stories. And for that question, only one word came to mind.

She carefully put a tea bag into her cup of steaming, hot water and journeyed to her dining room where she sat on her brown elegant chair and put her cup on top of her red covered dining table. She looked at the papers scattered around her table and one paper caught her attention. She grabbed it and looked at it carefully. She traced the rim of the picture with her hand as she whispered the words, "Forever."

Sighing, she put down the picture and drank her tea, thinking once again. Life was rather difficult for her, including the fact that she isolated herself for the past three years from her best friends, in order to write award-winning stories. However, now, more than ever, she wanted to see them again, but knew she couldn't. Moving to Steele City had been the hardest choice she ever had to do, but she knew it was for the best. Especially since her mother, Angela Roth, had died only a few months before her first novel was published, Raven knew that she had to move on, even if it meant going away from the only people who knew her as the real Raven, not the author Raven. Sure, she had made some new friends here and had some old friends such as Karen Beecher and Garth Johnson, but it didn't help her at all.

She still could not forget her dear old friends, Kori Anders, Richard Grayson, Vic Stone and last but not least, Gar Logan. When she thought of Gar, she felt shivers down her back. It had been unbelievably hard to say goodbye to her childhood best friend, but she had done it anyway. She looked to her right where she placed the picture, and held it up once more. Faintly smiling at who was in the picture, she remembered the day this picture was taken. It was the day they all went to college together and all of her friends were standing there, posing. She couldn't take her eyes off one person and that was Gar. Sighing, she put down the picture and leant back in her chair, closing her eyes.

Raven had been dating Garth for a few months since she moved to Steele City, but it didn't work out. He knew Raven too well and ended their relationship. Doubtless, this had affected Raven greatly, which prompted her to write her third famous book, Bite the Bullet, in which a woman was trying to bear a break up with her husband of three years. In the end, she had been able to accept it stoically and moved on in life, to become a famous gymnast, her childhood dream which her husband discouraged. Even though Garth didn't discourage her dream of becoming a famous writer, the break up was incredibly hard for her to handle. Just as she said, experience was what prompted her to write such marvellous books.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at her papers, and picked one up and started to read it.

_One's comfort cannot be determined on a general scale; however, my comfort is determined by my mood. Comfort for me is usually done by him, who grabs me to his hard rock chest and cradles me until my worries are over. However, not even this time could he help with this pain._

_This time, tears are my only comfort. It is not very healthy to keep your emotions cooped up inside you. Emotions can be very deadly and hazardous if not released. For me, my tears release my emotions, everything from anguish to pain to happiness to jubilance. Tears are my real solace. No one or anything else can help me deal with this pain better than my tears. _

_Tears is usually related to water droplets trailing on a window or raindrops during a hard rainfall. My tears are compared to a waterfall, with the water rushing down over the cliff as it is down my cheeks. Wiping my tears away is as good as keeping unwanted emotions cooped up inside. Crying is the only way I can deal with the hurt brought on by this event. _

She looked up quite satisfied with a short story, entitled Solace, she was writing. It was something, but it didn't make the cut. She wanted something more, well…different from the usual she wrote, which was dark and gloomy.

She turned to another page which had another story attempt she tried.

_She was sipping coffee at her favourite café when she noticed a man with almost orangish-red hair and gorgeous blue eyes. She stopped midway her drink when she noticed someone behind him. It was…Keith? Keith Redd was one of her best friends', Suzie, boyfriend, and she had never seen them separate ever. She concluded that the man with red hair must have been one of Keith's friends. She sipped coffee to avoid arousing suspicion, and her heart instantly leaped when the man with orangish-red hair sit down beside her as all the other seats in the café were taken. _

_She felt edgy when he sat next to her, but tried to not show him. She looked out the window and saw Keith talking to a woman with brown hair and a red haired girl holding her hand. Looking back at the man beside her, she assumed the worst. _

_She looked down at her black coffee, trying not to show the disappointment she had. She was, surprised, however when the man said, "Hi." _

_Her red eyes looked nervously at him when she hesitated, "Uh…hi?"_

_The man giggled, "I'm Shawn Johnston, and don't be startled. I love starting conversations." _

_She looked sideways at him and realized that a name such as Shawn Johnston suited him very well. She answered, "Elayne with a 'y', Anderson, Ellie for short." _

Raven looked up with dissatisfaction as she threw it away. She sighed, knowing that a story like this would always end up sad. Looking over to her left, she saw something which caught her eye. She picked it up and started to read it.

_Aaron Lewis had always been a healthy, energetic boy who bloomed into a handsome yet reckless man. Even though he never took anything for granted, even a man like him can have his life taken away from him with a single word or three words in this case. Aaron's life ripped apart and shattered the lives of all around him when he found out that he had diabetes. _

_Janine aka Jan, his older sister, took the news the hardest. She felt as if he getting diabetes was her fault. She always thought that she was the one who was supposed to save him from getting hurt and keeping out of trouble, however, this time she couldn't. Even though she was only human, she knew that she had to do something. _

_She had asked her husband, a doctor, to do anything to find a cure for diabetes, but her husband, Jeffrey simply shook his head. He knew that Aaron was important to Janine, but he didn't want her to strain too much pressure especially since their second one was on its way. _

_Aaron, nonetheless, did take it pretty hard on it himself. He blamed everything on him. He blamed himself for killing his mother even though she died in a car crash. He blamed himself for his father dieing in order to protect his children. He blamed himself for making his sister worry so much. Even though it was unusual for the man, he stayed cooped up in his room almost as long as Janine did. However, he occasionally did get out of the room to get snacks. He had taken his insulin shots, just as his brother-in-law told him to do. He had balanced his meal and what he ate. _

She looked up surprised. This was exactly what happened to her. She was diagnosed with leukemia and didn't want to stay around anyone who was dear to her, fearing that she would cause them too much pain if she died. However, she knew now that she is causing too much pain now for her, and her friends, especially Gar by staying away from them for so long. She smiled, knowing that this story was perfect. Picking up her favourite purple pen, she began to let her imagination go on forever.

When she was finished, she picked it up and began to read it.

_Aaron walked out of his room and walked by the elevator door. When the doorbell rang, he rushed back to the elevator and waited to see who it was. When he saw who it was when the elevator door sprung open, he sighed. It was Leyla Brant, his ex-girlfriend. He hadn't kept touch in her ever since they broke up a few months ago._

_Silence had befallen them before Leyla muttered, "Hey."_

_Aaron looked at her, "Hey."_

_Leyla looked uncomfortable when she said, "How you feeling?"_

_Aaron wanted to tell her to get a new life but instead he replied, "Great. You?"_

_Smiling, she said, "Never been better." Another moment of silence had fallen and both of them were very uncomfortable. "So…ummm…how's everyone else?"_

"_Fine."_

_Leyla looked at Aaron and hoped that he would say something more but he didn't. She didn't want them to be uncomfortable around each other. In fact, she never even wanted them to split up. When Leyla had yelled that she never wanted to meet him in anger, he took it seriously and dumped her. She wanted him back, even if it meant to start all over again. "So, uh, taking your insulin shots?"_

_Aaron whipped his head around and was about to walk away when Leyla leaned over and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked around, straight into her eyes. _

_Leyla unexpectedly put her arms around him and surprisingly started to cry. Aaron looked down at the girl in his arms in surprise. He stroked his hair while she sobbed into his chest. She muttered, "Why did you have to leave me? Why didn't you tell me sooner that you had diabetes? I cried all night when I found out from Jeff. I love you, don't you see?"_

_Aaron looked at the girl in his arm in surprise. Did she say that she loved him? He tilted her chin so he could see right into her eyes, right into her soul. "I love you too." Leyla was about to say something when she felt cold lips against hers. She was shocked by the action, but immediately sunk into it._

_What they didn't see was Jeffrey walk by with his coffee mug. He smiled saying, "Figure my call would do the trick. Now only if Jan would come around…"_

_Janine watched the door where her husband had just left the room. She was alone in the room as her son, Isaac, was with his "Aunt Lily" or Lilith and George at Lilith's apartment. Aaron was in his room as usual, probably playing video games. He had recovered slowly and accepted the fact that he had diabetes. However, Janine couldn't. She still blamed herself for everything. _

_Her husband had always tried to do logics with her, but she knew it wouldn't work. She remembered the last time he had done that when Aaron was asking for bail when he crashed a car._

_-Flashback-_

_Jeffrey listened patiently as his fiancée was sobbing and whispering into his chest. _

"_Jeff, you know how hard it has been for me to raise Aaron as a sister. When our mother died, life began spiralling downward for father. After her death," Janine paused and sobbed a bit more, "he became a gambler and a drunk. Because of that, he accidentally killed a loan shark. Ever since our father went into jail, I had to raise Aaron. If only he would understand how much I am struggling for him, maybe then he would know better than to crash cars." _

"_Inscrutable," whispered Jeffrey when he looked around his room. Unfortunately, Janine heard this, and she immediately looked up at Jeffrey with red, puffy eyes. _

"_What do you mean inscrutable? Are you saying I am inscrutable? Are you saying that I am…" the __Episcopalian focused hard on finding the meaning of the word inscrutable in her mind of vocabulary. _

_Jeffrey reluctantly rolled his eyes and commented quietly, "Like I said, I really need to get the three of you dictionaries." _

"_Inscrutable means hard to make out, doesn't it?" Startled by her melodic voice, Jeffrey nodded by means of answering. Scrutinizing him was one of her ultimate goals by the time they were married. However, she still didn't understand him and his rather awkward use of vocabulary. "Why did you call me inscrutable?" _

_While letting go of her and standing up, he answered, "I called you inscrutable because you are hard to read. No one would have expected that you had such a hard past, Janine. No one would have guessed the responsibilities and burdens laid out on you because of one tragedy in your life." _

_Janine gawked at Jeffrey and stood up as well. As she was going to leave the room, she whispered, "Aaron is not a burden. I love him way too much to say he's a burden. In fact, he's a gift from God." _

_Once she left the room, Jeffrey smiled faintly, "That's exactly what I predicted that I would hear from you, Janine."_

_-End of Flashback-_

_She shook the memory out of her head and went into the bathroom because she felt another vomit coming up again. She really didn't like handling the fact that her baby brother had diabetes when she was expecting a child in five months._

_Months had passed and Janine still didn't get out of her room even though the baby was due in two months. Everyone wanted to see her like she was before they found out what happened but nothing they said would work. George and Lilith were always playing with Isaac, Jeffrey in his lab, and Aaron and Leyla spending as much time together as they could. Everyone knew that if anyone could make Jan change her mind, it was Aaron._

_That was the reason why Aaron was in front of her sister's room, knocking on the door. When she opened the door, she looked surprised. She beckoned him to come inside and they began to talk._

"_Look, Jan, before you say anything, thank you for all you have done, but you don't need to kill yourself thinking that you are the reason behind my diabetes. Didn't you know the grandma had it?" _

_Janine looked at her brother in exasperation, "Why did you have to get it though? Why couldn't it be me?" _

"_Jan, you're being too hard on yourself. See, look at me, I'm happy as a man should be. Leyla is living with us, and I am going to become an uncle again in two months. Shouldn't I be happy? I'm taking my insulin shots. What else do you need?" Aaron exclaimed._

_Janine looked at her brother in shock. Janine really didn't know what was happening in the Baxter Building. She didn't even know that Leyla and Aaron got back together again. "I want you to forgive me."_

_Aaron sighed, "For the last time it wasn't your…"_

_Janine interrupted, "I want you to forgive me for taking this too much to heart. I knew that you would cope just fine but I still can't help but wonder why this had to happen to you. I love you Aaron, and as long as you're happy, I'm happy."_

"_I love you too. Well, glad that's over. Hey do you want to have some lunch? We better hurry before George burns the steak again." He smiled, which Janine knew what he was thinking._

_And for the first time in five months, Janine was laughing._

Smiled, she sat back in her chair satisfied with her short story. Even though it wasn't one of her master piece chapter story, it had to do. After going to her laptop, sending the copy to her editor along with her poems and short stories, she finally sat down in front of the fireplace, thinking once more. Knowing how much this story was very much like her own life, she picked up the cordless phone beside her and dialled a very familiar number.

Her ex-boyfriend Gar was the only person who she could trust with anything and she threw him out of her life, once she knew about her condition. If anyone was to help her with her life, it was him. She whispered, "Hello?"

She heard a familiar voice over the phone, "Rae?"

Smiling and leaning back into her chair, she replied, "Yeah, hey, Gar, long time no see. Do you think we can talk for a bit? You know, catch up?"

**Like it? I'm sorry if the ending is very crappy, but hey, I think it suited the tone of the story. Do you guys like it? Please say you do!!!**

**If you guys liked this, please say so in a review!**

**And for those who were wondering, yes the stories Raven wrote are actually one shots I wrote. If you guys want to know which ones, please say so in a review!**

**Forgiveness is the scent that the rose leaves on the heel that crushes it.**

**-Rosefire**


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